The Ultimate Price
by SSBFreak
Summary: This is my last JGR fanfic. What does Slate do when he finds out that his childhood friend has been ordered to kill one of the GG's?


NOTE: Crane is the property of me.  
  
A forty-seven year old man slowly walked down the stairs in his house at four in the morning, and walked into his living room. He was thin, and had gray hair, with a few strands of brown mixed in.  
  
The man walked into the living room, and pulled a chest from the closet. He set it on the floor, and opened it.  
  
Inside was a lime-green shirt with Japanese writing, black pants, strange- looking headphones, large sunglasses and old inline skates.  
  
This man was Beat.  
  
Suddenly, memories of his youth appeared in his mind as he looked at his old clothing. Like the time the gang played an April Fool's joke on Tab by putting red hair dye in his shampoo. The joke was on them, however, as Tab actually LIKED the new shade and stuck with it. This made the old Beat snicker a little  
  
He looked away from the chest and over at the fireplace. On the mantle were three pictures that he had treasured so much. Beat got up and looked at the three black and white pictures on the mantle.  
  
The first one was a picture of Beat as a teenager, with almost all the other members of his old gang gathered around him. Gum, Tab, Combo, Cube, Garam, Piranha, Mew, Yo-yo, Jazz and Clutch. Everyone had a bright smile on his or her face. Tab was even showing off his red hair, although no one could tell because it was a black and white picture.  
  
The second picture showed Beat as a young adult, kissing Gum on their wedding day. Gum was dressed in a floor-length white gown, and Beat was dressed in a black tuxedo. Gathered around them were Tab, the best man, Mew and Cube, the bridesmaids, and the pastor at the local Church.  
  
Beat took the third picture from the mantle and looked at it. It was a picture of another skater. He had a strangely large nose, an even stranger hairstyle, goggles on his forehead, black gloves and a teal jacket with the collar turned up, covering his mouth. He held a spray can in his right hand. The skater was Slate.  
  
Beat took a good, hard look at the picture. A tear rolled down his face as he remembered that horrible day that happened thirty years ago remembered by him and told by other members of the gang.  
  
(START FLASHBACK)  
  
A teenage Beat smiled as he stood triumphantly over a defeated Doom Rider, whom was breathing heavily.  
  
"Okay." The Doom Rider breathed hard. "You defeated me. Now what?"  
  
Beat's smile faded.  
  
"Uh…I don't remember." Beat replied.  
  
"We could sing a song." The Doom Rider suggested.  
  
Meanwhile, a teenage Gum rolled along the streets of Dogenzaka Hill, looking for Beat. Beat had seen a lone Doom Rider, and had gone off to defeat him alone.  
  
Gum called out Beat's name as she searched Dogenzaka Hill high and low. Her search ended when she suddenly heard singing. She scooted towards the singing, and found Beat and the Doom Rider singing "Knights of the Round Table" from Monty Python.  
  
With a blank look on her face, Gum grabbed Beat by the arm and dragged him away. While dragging Beat back to the garage, Gum said something.  
  
"What were you doing back there, Beat?" Gum asked, still with the blank look.  
  
"What?" Beat replied. "Can't a guy have a little fun?"  
  
Gum shook her head in hopelessness as she pulled Beat towards the top of Dogenzaka Hill, towards the path that led back to the garage.  
  
Just as the two skaters were about to leave, they heard someone behind them.  
  
"Hey, wait up!" A voice shouted.  
  
Beat and Gum turned around and saw a new skater approach. They had never seen him before. He was tall, had a red shirt with black symbols on it, and had a full head of white hair.  
  
"The name's Crane. I saw what you did to defeat that Doom Rider." The skater said to Beat. "I'm interested in challenging you to a duel at Shibuya Terminal."  
  
Beat's eyes widened. A challenge with a skater he had known for no more than fifteen seconds? All he could say was one word.  
  
"When?" Beat asked.  
  
"Today at four." Crane replied. "You'd better be there."  
  
With that, Crane skated away, leaving the two skaters staring into space.  
  
"Weird." Gum said.  
  
"I know." Beat added. "Why would he want to challenge me?"  
  
"Well, he DID say that he was impressed with your performance with that Doom Rider." Gum suggested.  
  
"But all I did was spray his back!" Beat stated as he shrugged.  
  
"Well, we should tell everyone about your challenge." Gum said as the two skated back to the garage.  
  
When the two got there, the other members saw them approach.  
  
"Hey. What kept you guys?" Mew asked.  
  
"We were on our way back from our daily tag when Beat noticed a Doom Rider." Gum replied as she pointed at Beat. "Obviously, Beat challenged him and defeated the poor dope."  
  
"Afterwards," Beat continued. "A new skater challenged me to a duel at Shibuya Terminal today at four."  
  
"What's the skater's name?" Tab asked.  
  
"He said that his name was Crane." Gum replied.  
  
Slate, who was lying on the couch, suddenly jerked, hearing the skater's name. Slate fell off the couch, got up and rushed over to the railing overlooking Beat and Gum.  
  
"Crane?!" Slate asked.  
  
Slate did a grind down the railing and came to rest right beside Beat.  
  
"Was he tall with white hair?" Slate asked.  
  
"Yeah." Beat replied. "You know him?"  
  
"Are you kidding?!" Slate stated. "He and I go WAY back!"  
  
Slate looked at his watch.  
  
"Which way did he go?" Slate asked.  
  
"He skated off towards Chuo Street." Gum replied.  
  
"We have about fifteen minutes until Beat's duel starts. I'm gonna go over to Chuo Street and see if I can find Crane." Slate stated.  
  
Tab and Piranha stepped forward.  
  
"Hey, Slate." Tab said. "Do you think you could bring Piranha and I along?"  
  
"We'd like to meet your childhood friend." Piranha added.  
  
"Sure thing." Slate replied. "But we'll have to hurry."  
  
Slate, Tab and Piranha quickly rushed out of the garage, bolted through Shibuya Terminal and rushed into Chuo Street.  
  
"Where do you guys think Crane would be?" Slate asked.  
  
"He could be up there where the statue is." Tab replied as he pointed to the top of Chuo Street. "That's where most of the people are."  
  
Slate and Piranha quickly agreed as the trio rushed up to the area with the statue.  
  
The trio looked around. They couldn't spot Crane anywhere in the crowd. They looked around Chuo Street for about seven minutes, but couldn't find Crane anywhere. They were about to give up when Piranha noticed someone in the alley.  
  
"Hey. Is that him?" Piranha asked as she pointed into the alley.  
  
Slate and Tab looked where Piranha was pointing. They saw a tall skater with white hair talking on a cell phone.  
  
"That's him all right!" Slate exclaimed happily as he started to skate forward, but Tab held him back.  
  
"Wait. He's on the phone." Tab stated. "I don't think we should bother him yet."  
  
Piranha scratched her chin.  
  
"Wait a minute." Piranha stated. "What's he doing in an alley? Why isn't he talking on his phone where all the people are?"  
  
"Maybe he just needs peace and quiet." Slate suggested.  
  
"Maybe." Piranha replied. "But I still think it's weird. I think we should listen in."  
  
Tab and, after a while, Slate agreed as the three skaters pushed up against the wall beside the alley. Slate was the closest, so he would be the only one to hear Crane.  
  
After about two minutes of listening, Slate's eyes widened and he started sweating. Tab and Piranha were wondering what was wrong.  
  
Slate turned to his two friends, a frantic look in his eyes. Slate pulled Tab away from the alley while Tab pulled Piranha.  
  
When they were far enough away, Slate started skating faster than he ever skated before. Tab and Piranha could barely keep up.  
  
"What's wrong, Slate?" Tab asked. "You look frenzied."  
  
"I overheard the entire phone call!" Slate replied. "Crane's working for the Golden Rhinos!"  
  
"What?" Piranha asked.  
  
"That's not all!" Slate continued. "Crane's just been ordered to kill Beat with a gun before the duel starts!"  
  
"What?!" Tab and Piranha said in unison, starting to get the same look that Slate had.  
  
"But why can't he just refuse?!" Piranha asked.  
  
"Crane tried to refuse!" Slate stated. "The Golden Rhinos obviously threatened Crane if he didn't kill Beat!"  
  
"We have to get back to the garage and warn Beat before it's too late!" Tab stated.  
  
The three skaters rushed out of Chuo Street and through Shibuya Terminal. Luckily, Beat wasn't there.  
  
The three skaters continued until they reached the garage, all out of breath.  
  
The three looked around. Everyone was there. Well, everyone but one…Beat. Freaked out, Slate rushed over to Gum.  
  
"Gum!" Slate said. "Where's Beat?!"  
  
"He just went to Shibuya Terminal for his duel." Gum replied.  
  
Slate's eyes widened.  
  
"But we didn't see him back there!" Slate stated.  
  
"Beat took the long way and went down Dogenzaka Hill." Gum replied.  
  
Slate turned to Tab and Piranha.  
  
"We have to get down there at all costs!" Slate stated.  
  
Tab and Piranha quickly agreed and the three rushed back towards Shibuya Terminal.  
  
"I wonder what the problem is." Gum said to herself. "Well, there's only one way to fins out."  
  
Gum skated after her three friends.  
  
Meanwhile, at Shibuya Terminal, Beat was standing still, looking at Crane who was looking back. The terminal was full of people.  
  
"Ready?" Crane asked.  
  
"Ladies first." Beat taunted.  
  
"3…2…1…G-" Crane said. Before he could say 'Go', the two skaters heard someone shouting.  
  
"Beat! Look out!" Someone shouted.  
  
Beat and Crane looked to where the voice was coming from. They saw Slate, Tab, Piranha and Gum standing by the entrance of the Terminal.  
  
"Look out, Beat!" Slate stated. "He has a gun!"  
  
At hearing this, every civilian in the terminal dropped to the ground and covered his or her head.  
  
Beat look at Crane, who had a guilty look on his face.  
  
"Sorry, Beat." Crane apologized. "I'm just doing what I'm being ordered to do."  
  
Crane reached into the pocket of his baggy pants, and pulled out an old revolver.  
  
Beat froze. He wanted to dive to the ground, but he was too scared to move.  
  
Crane reached for the trigger. Beat knew that it was over for him.  
  
Suddenly, Beat felt himself getting pushed just as the gun went off. The bullet missed Beat, and the skater fell to the pavement.  
  
"Whew!" Beat sighed. "I'm all right."  
  
Beat looked up. There, lying where Beat was standing in a forming puddle of blood, a bullet wound in his chest, was Slate. Beat's eyes widened.  
  
"SLATE!" Beat screamed as he rushed over to Slate's side. He wasn't the only one. Tab, Piranha, Gum and almost everyone else in the terminal rushed over to the fallen skater's side. A young woman had seen what had happened and ran to call the hospital.  
  
"Slate! Come on, Slate! Say something!" Beat begged.  
  
Slate slowly and weakly looked at Beat.  
  
"…Ouch…" Slate replied weakly.  
  
Beat looked through the crowd and straight at Crane, who looked just as shocked as anyone else. Rather than shoot Beat, Crane turned tail and ran off towards Chuo Street. Beat turned back to his fallen friend.  
  
"Why did you do that for me, Slate?" Beat asked.  
  
"Hey," Slate replied weakly. "I couldn't let a childhood acquaintance kill my fearless leader, now could I?"  
  
Slate suddenly groaned.  
  
"The pain." Slate groaned. "It's too much for me. I don't know if I'm gonna make it."  
  
Beat's eyes widened even more. Just thinking about one of his friends dying was too much for him.  
  
"No! A woman has gone to call an ambulance!" Beat stated. "You're going to make it!"  
  
Slate slowly shook his head. "It's too late for me, Beat. I'm leaving you."  
  
Slate tried to breathe. He barely managed to get two words out.  
  
"…Goodbye, Beat." Slate weakly said.  
  
Beat was at a real loss for words. He now had tear streaks running from behind his shades and down both sides of his face. He finally said it.  
  
"Goodbye, buddy." Beat sniffed.  
  
After Beat said that, he felt Slate's arm go limp in his grip. Freaked out, Beat shook Slate by the shoulders, trying to wake him up, but it was no use. Slate was dead.  
  
Still crying, Beat stood up and looked in the direction of Chuo Street. Now furious, Beat started marching towards Chuo Street.  
  
"Beat, wait." A female voice sniffed weakly from behind him.  
  
Beat looked behind himself and saw a crying Gum slowly skate over to him.  
  
"I know what you're thinking of doing." Gum said. "But killing Crane won't bring Slate back."  
  
Beat sighed. He knew that Gum was right. Beat threw his arms around her.  
  
"I'm going to miss him." Beat whimpered.  
  
"We all are, Beat." Gum sniffed. "We all are."  
  
"Isn't there anything we could do?" Beat asked.  
  
Gum pulled away from her boyfriend and looked him straight in the eye.  
  
"There's one thing, Beat." Gum said. "We all know that Slate was a Christian for the past two months, and he tried to convert the rest of us, but none of us listened. I think that this Sunday…We should get the rest of the gang to go to Church."  
  
The two embraced again.  
  
"We'll do it for Slate." Beat promised.  
  
(END FLASHBACK)  
  
The older Beat slowly set Slate's picture back on the mantle. The single tear that he had started out with was now two tear streaks. Beat took this time to think about what had happened to the rest of the gang since Slate's death.  
  
The police had tracked Crane down via Crane's personal tags, and ended up at the Rokkaku Twin Towers just outside of Chuo Street. Inside, the Twin Towers were also covered with Crane's tag. They even found the dead body of Gouji, also covered with Crane's tags. The police finally found Crane, but when they did, Crane was drowned in a river. It didn't take anyone long to realize that Crane trashed Gouji for making him do what he did, then killed himself, obviously not wanting to live with the fact that he had shot his childhood friend.  
  
The following Sunday, the remaining GG's ended up at Church, where every last one of them repented and became believers in Christ. The remaining gang members all got married at the same Church many years later. Beat married Gum, Tab married Piranha, Combo married Cube, Garam married Mew and Yo-yo married Jazz.  
  
The older Beat then thought about what was happening to everyone now.  
  
Surprisingly, after thirty years, DJ Professor K was STILL alive and STILL doing his radio station. He was still as hyper as ever, but his actions were limited, being in a wheelchair and all.  
  
After the two youngest members, Yo-yo and Jazz, married, the GG's disbanded, but not before signing a friendship treaty with the Poison Jam and Doom Riders. However, everyone's kids ended up finding out about his or her parents being skaters that tagged anything in sight. The kids of the original GG's had become the NEW GG's. And it was perfect timing as well, as rudies were now permitted to roam the streets. With DJ Professor K as their guide, the New GG's had accomplished many things.  
  
Every last remaining original GG had also accomplished many things.  
  
Beat had become a detective, and had solved many cases. Some people even refer to him as a modern day Sherlock Holmes. Gum, however, has become a police officer. But not just ANY police officer. Gum was the one who allowed rudies to skate in the streets freely.  
  
Tab had become a doctor, and Piranha a nurse. Together, they saved many lives and discovered a cure for a rare cancer.  
  
Combo and Cube, not surprisingly, started their own radio station. Unlike Jet Set Radio, this radio station played Christian music and had many DJ's playing at different times. Combo and Cube became part of the very few husband/wife DJ duo, and currently, their radio station was ranked almost as high as Jet Set Radio.  
  
Garam and Mew opened up a skating goods store. Like most businesses, it started small, but it grew quickly. Soon, Garam and Mew's skating goods store had become so popular that it was now at twenty different locations. And that was just in Japan!  
  
After marrying, Yo-yo and Jazz each picked up a pencil and started drawing. Soon, the two had become such good animators, that their friends suggested they try and get a job in the comics industry. So after being rejected by Marvel Comics, Yo-yo and Jazz decided to just start their own comic company. After hiring many more people, Yo-yo and Jazz kicked off their new company and their first comic became a best seller.  
  
But Clutch. Clutch topped them ALL. He ended up marrying a blind, but beautiful, girl and the two moved to Africa and became missionaries. There, they became the parents of two sons, and in between the two sons, they adopted a daughter. Everyone they had preached to had converted to Christianity. However, their time as missionaries was almost up, and the family was scheduled to move back to Japan in two weeks. None of the original GG's could wait for the joyful reunion.  
  
All this was thanks to a brave skater who gave his life for his friend. Slate.  
  
Beat wiped away his tears. Slowly and quietly, he put the chest containing his old clothes back where he found it. He slowly walked back up the stairs, but about halfway up, he stopped. Beat looked back at Slate's picture on the mantle and said two words before continuing his journey up the stairs.  
  
"Thanks, buddy."  
  
END  
  
Author's notes: Sorry to all you Slate-lovers out there, but this is my last Jet Grind Radio fan fiction and I wanted to send it off with a sad ending. Hey, I happen to be a Slate-lover too, you know. Oh, and about the Christianity bit. I AM a Christian myself, and I just couldn't resist the urge to put it in my fan fiction. Please read and review. 


End file.
